This blog is being kept as a memorial to Fr. John Michael Payne, OCD, who was a Friar of the Discalced Carmelite Province of St. Therese in the United States and who wrote the posts on this blog. No further items will be posted on this blog.

~Discalced Carmelite FriarsProvince of St. Therrese

12 Ways of Settling It

Evangelical: The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.Fundamentalist: The Bible says it, that settles it.Pentecostal: The Bible says it, the Spirit told me what it means to me, that settles it.Baptist: The Bible says it. . . . I said, THE BIIIIIIIIBLE SAYS IT! Amen???Protestant: The Bible says it, my particular tradition’s confession most accurately summarizes it, that settles it.Catholic: The Church tells me that the Bible says it, the Pope interprets it, the Magisterium votes on it, that settles it.Eastern Orthodox: The Bible said it, but if it was not settled in one of the first seven ecumenical councils, nothing will settle it.Textual Critic: The Bible probably does not say it, because I don’t believe it and I have a Ph.D., that settles it.Classical Apologist: The Bible says it, I have over 80 arguments to prove its reliability, that settles it.Presuppositionalist: The Bible says it, and to deny the Bible is to deny the very possibility of denying the Bible, that settles it.Mormon: The Bible says it if Joseph Smith said it, I prayed and got a burning in my bosom over it, that settles it.Jehovah’s Witness: The Bible said it, pagan Christendom distorted it, the Watchtower Organization came along 1, 800 years later and correctly explained it, that settles it.